THE Government has announced that 20 people from outside the police will be able to join it at the rank of superintendent each year, and a further 80 at inspector level.<\/p>\n
The Home Office and police minister Damian Green (pictured)\u00a0also stated that as part of its plans to introduce direct entry into policing in 2014, Police and Crime Commissioners will for the first time be able to appoint overseas officers as chief constables.<\/p>\n
Mr Green said that while police leaders had to make tough decisions under pressure, that could \u201cat the extreme, be a matter of life and death\u2026 these are clearly skills that can be transferred from other trades and professions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c[Today] we bring an end to the policing version of the closed shop,\u201d Mr Green said.<\/p>\n
In a written ministerial statement, Mr Green said: \u201cThe Government remains committed to implementing fast track and direct entry schemes as they offer an opportunity to attract the best talent to the police.<\/p>\n
\u201cCohort sizes should be flexible to reflect the changing needs of forces. We believe there should be in the region of 80 places on each annual cohort for the inspectors\u2019 scheme, in line with recommendations made by Tom Winsor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe the superintendents\u2019 scheme should develop so that there at least 20 places on each annual cohort.<\/p>\n
\u201cPCCs should have the ability to choose their chief constable not only from the senior ranks in the United Kingdom, but also from other countries with a similar legal framework and policing model to ours.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will enable PCCs to choose the very best person for the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first cohorts are expected to start in 2014.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Green did explain that objections to the idea during more than 900 consultation responses raised \u201cissues such as equality, opportunities for existing officers, flexibility for annual cohort numbers, and the skills needed for policing.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said \u201ca proportion of respondents were opposed to the direct entry schemes in principle. These respondents valued policing experience as the principal foundation for all police leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n
College of Policing chief executive Alex Marshall: \u201cThe College of Policing has been commissioned to lead on the development of direct entry schemes for policing following recommendations from the Winsor review into policing.<\/p>\n
\u201cBritish policing already has a vast array of talent, but that shouldn\u2019t prevent us from opening up further opportunities to those from other professions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe work we have been asked to develop will cover new approaches in talent management of those from constable to inspector, direct entry at superintendent and opening up chief constable positions to equivalent candidates from forces outside the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve White, vice chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: \u201cWe agree that the police service should be seeking to attract the \u2018brightest and best\u2019, however the current high potential development scheme should already identify those individuals and allow them to flourish.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo command a policing operation effectively, a senior officer needs first-hand experience of responding in an operational capacity to incidents they would not encounter in any other walk of life.<\/p>\n
\u201cExternal candidates should not be able to join the service at any rank above that of constable; the current structure properly equips officers for the next stage in their career.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"